


Handful of Hope

by theawkwardonetwothree



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Adoption, Derek and Spencer are adopting, Hotch/Prentiss is a thing, M/M, Team as Family, lots of fluff, maybe smut, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-10
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-03-08 23:16:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3227168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theawkwardonetwothree/pseuds/theawkwardonetwothree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek and Spencer are happily married, when they make a big decision. The decision to adopt a child. This is the story of their journey to make their family complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek and Spencer begin the process of adoption.

Derek and Spencer stood in their backyard, watching as their team hung out. Some were lounging in chairs and drinking a beer, some were in the pool and splashing each other.

Derek looked over at Spencer who was talking to JJ and smiled. They had invited the team over, saying that there was something they wanted to share. They all agreed after being assured that it was good news.

Watching as Hotch chased after Jack, and Will play with Henry in the pool, Derek knew that they'd made the right decision. He walked over to Spence and JJ and wrapped his arm around Spencer's waist.

Spencer turned to Derek and smiled. "Hey."

"Hey. I think it's about time."

Spencer nodded, thinking about the news that they were about to share. It was an important decision, and he knew that he and Derek would feel better doing this with the support of their team. Over the years, their team had become like a family. There was no way they could do this without them.

"Okay, everybody. Gather 'round." The team plus Will and the children came over to where Spencer ans Derek were. 

Derek took a deep breath and said, "As you all know, Spencer and I have been married for just over a year now, and we've never been happier. So we've been talking lately and we've made a decision." He looked to Spencer, giving him the floor.

"Derek and I have decided that we're going to adopt a child."

There was stunned kind of silence until Garcia shouted, "Oh My God! Congratulations!"

She rushed over to hug them, which started everybody patting their backs and congratulating them. 

"Have you been looking at children?" Hotch asked.

Spencer shook his head. "Not yet. Tomorrow, we're meeting with a woman from the adoption agency. She'll visit our home to make sure it's a good environment for a child, then if we pass that test, then we can start looking for a child."

Derek spoke up. "We're meeting her for lunch tomorrow before bringing her back here. We were hoping that maybe you and JJ could meet us here tomorrow and be our references. We thought you two would be the best choices since you guys have kids."

Hotch and JJ both nodded their heads. "Definitely," JJ said. Hotch agreed. 

Derek and Spencer smiled in relief. If tomorrow went well, then hopefully this could actually happen.

Spencer and Derek sat in a booth at the local diner, waiting for Ms. Nelson, the woman from the adoption agency. 

Spencer's leg was bouncing from nerves. Derek laid his hand on Spence's knee. "Hey, calm down. Everything will work out, okay?"

Spencer took a deep breath and nodded, leaning over to press a quick kiss to Derek's lips. "Alright."

"Are you two Derek and Spencer?" a voice asked.

They looked up and a woman was standing next to their table. She looked to be in her late thirties maybe.

Spencer, who sitting on the outside, stood up and help out his hand. "Yes. I'm Spencer."

She smiled. "Hello. My name is Clara Nelson from the Handful Of Hope Adoption Agency. I'm assuming you're Derek?"

Derek stood and shook her hand as well. "Yes, hello. Thank you for meeting with us."

"Not a problem."

A waitress came over and took our orders.

"So, how long have you two been thinking about adopting?"

"Four months, two weeks, six days, and sixteen hours," Spencer answered.

She raised her eyebrows at him while Derek just grinned. "Alright, well have you two spent a lot of time around children?"

Derek nodded. "Yeah. A few of our friends have kids, and when my family comes to visit we spend a lot of time with my neice and nephew."

"Good, so you know that raising a child is a lot of work."

We both nodded. "What about references?"

"Aaron Hotchner and Jennifer Jureau, our friends who have children, are our references. Would it be okay if they met us at the house? That way you could get a better understanding of who we are from them."

She nodded. "I think that's a good idea."

As they ate, wlthey answered questions and told her about themselves. When the men were finished, she followed them to their house.

Hotch and JJ were already waiting outside. After introductions, everybody headed into the living room. 

Once they all got comfortable, Ms. Nelson turned to Hotch and JJ. "So how long have you two known Derek and Spencer?"

Hotch said, "I've known Spencer and Derek for seven or eight years, since we all started working together."

Ms. Nelson looked at JJ. "And you?"

Smiling politely, JJ said, "I met Derek and Spencer when I became the media liaison for our team. It's been about six and a half years I would say."

Ms. Nelson nodded and started writing on a little note pad that she had pulled out of her purse. "Okay. What is the relationship between the members of your team?"

JJ answered. "We're like a family. Spencer is the godfather of my son, Henry. We're all like brothers and sisters."

"And how do Derek and Spencer interact with your guys' kids?"

"They're great. My son loves staying the night here. They get along perfectly," Aaron said.

Ms. Nelson smiled. "That's good." She asked Aaron and JJ more questions. When she was satisfied with that, she turned to Spencer and Derek. "I think now would he a good time to take a tour of the house."

Spencer nodded and turned toward their friends. "Were you guys heading home, or did you want to hang out here for a while?"

"I think we're gonna head home. Thanks though."

They all exchanged goodbyes and just before they left, JJ said, "Pen said that she'd call later."

When it was just the three of them, they showed her around.

First, they went around the first floor. There wasn't much, as the bedrooms were upstairs. That's where they headed next. The first bedroom they entered was theirs.

After that was the bedroom next to theirs, which would be the child's room should they pass the examination. She seemed to like that they would put the child in the room closest to their bedroom. The other room was a guest bedroom that was empty except for furniture.

When they finished the tour, they all went back down to the living room.

She wrote a few things down in her notepad and the two men waited nervously.

She finally looked at them. "As far as I'm concerned, this is a great place for a child to grow up. From what I heard from your friends, you guys have a good support system. Friends and family you can count on."

Derek raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean...?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yes. You guys can procede with the adoption. I have seen nothing in this house that could he hazardous to a child. I think you guys would be a great fit."

Derek and Spencer smiled in relief. They pulled each other into a tight hug. When they pulled apart, Ms. Nelson dismissed herself and after goodbyes, she left.

Derek looked at Spencer. "We did it Pretty Boy."

"We did."

They spent their afternoon thinking about how their lives were about to change, and they couldn't be happier.

Hours later, Derek's phone rang. He answered, "Hey, Baby Girl."

"Hey Sweetcheeks. How'd it go?"

Derek grinned. "It went good. It went really good."

"Does that mean that you and Junior G-man are having a baby?"

Derek laughed, as did Spencer who could hear Penelope. "If by that you mean that we can continue with the adoption, then yes."

"Yes! Oh my god, that's going to be adorable. And now I have another person to spoil."

"Try not to go too overboard."

"No promises. So when do you get to decide on the kid?" she asked.

"Tomorrow after work, Spencer and I are going to the adoption agency and pick up some files of kids. Then we narrow that down to two or three, then we can meet those kids."

"Alright, well good luck. I have to go. Us girls are having a girls' night."

"Okay, have fun Baby Girl."

"You know it Baby Boy."

Derek hung up the phone and slid it into his pocket. It wasn't very late, but it had been a busy day and he was tired. Looking at his husband, he saw Spencer rubbing his eyes, trying to hold back a yawn.

Derek reached over and ran his fingers through Spencer's hair.

Spencer groaned and leaned into Derek's hand. He loved that. It was so relaxing. "Ready for bed honey?" Derek asked him.

Spencer nodded. "Yeah."

Together they headed up to their bedroom. Spencer shut the door behind him and took off his shirt. He slid off his jeans and pulled on his plaid pajama bottoms.

Derek stripped down to his boxers and got into bed. Spencer followed and pulled the comforter over them. They scooted together until they were comfortable.

"Goodnight," Spencer said.

"Night," relied Derek. Within minutes they were both asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually started this story a while ago, but I forgot about it. I decided to rewrite it, so let me know if you think I should continue with this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek and Spencer have a decision to make.

Work was slow. They had no case, which was a good thing. They really did not want to have to leave town before they got a chance to stop by the adoption agency to pick up the files.

Around three o'clock Spencer sighed and set down his pen. He rubbed the heel of his hand into his eyes, trying to keep alert. He and Derek had nearly been late this morning. Derek had set an alarm on his phone, but he's forgotten to turn on the volume.

So, Spencer had only had one cup of coffee this morning, plus two more throughout the day. Not nearly enough. Knowing that he was about to fall asleep at his desk, Spencer stood up and headed to the coffee machine. 

He thanked whoever was listening that somebody had recently made a fresh pot. 

As he poured himself a cup and added the necessary amount of sugar, he heard somebody enter the break room. Turning around, he saw JJ. He smiled at her and took a sip of his drink.

"Hey Spence," she said and poured herself a mug of the coffee. 

"Hey JJ."

"Did the home inspection go well?" she asked.

Spencer nodded. "Yes, it went great. Derek and I are going today to pick up some files of children we can adopt."

JJ smiled and laid a hand on his shoulder. "That's awesome. I'm happy for you guys."

Spencer smiled and could feel a slight blush creep on his face. "Thanks Jayje."

She nodded and squeezed his shoulder before heading back to her desk. Spencer drank the rest of his coffee and refilled his cup. He walked back to his desk and sat down, focusing on trying to finish his paperwork quickly. 

It didn't take him long and when he was done he leaned back and stretched. He looked over to where Derek was sitting and the other man looked up a few seconds later. He saw Spencer looking at him and winked. "You done already?"

Spencer nodded. "Yeah. How many folders do you have left?"

Derek looked down. "Just two. When I finish we can probably leave, I don't think Hotch would mind. We've got nothing else to do."

Spencer nodded. Normally, Spencer would offer to help Derek finish his work, but lately, Derek had been slipping a few of his files into Spencer's stack without the younger man noticing. So Spencer figured that Derek could manage it on his own this time.

A short while later, Derek tossed his pen down and looked at his husband. "I'm all done. Want me to go ask Hotch if we can take off?"

Spencer nodded and watched as Derek walked up to Hotch's office. He returned a minute later and nodded at Spencer. "He said we can go, just as long as we keep our cell phones on us."

The two men said their goodbyes and headed out to car. Spencer fiddled with the radio stations as they drove, not really finding anything. He finally just stopped on a hard rock station since he knew that that was Derek's favorite. And to be honest, Spencer didn't mind it much.

Fifteen minutes later they pulled up in front of the adoption agency. When they walked in the went over to the woman at the desk. She smiled and said, "Hi. How can I help you?"

Derek said, "Hi. I'm Derek Morgan and this is my husband, Spencer. We were supposed to pick up some files from Clara Nelson."

The young woman nodded. " Ms. Nelson had to go to a meeting, so she left these here to give to you. Can I just see your ID please?" Derek nodded and pulled out his ID, showing it to the woman. She grabbed a stack of manila folders and handed them to Derek. 

"Thank you," Spencer said.

She smiled. "You're welcome."

They went back to the car and Spencer held the files on his lap as they drove home. There were thirteen folders.

Once they were inside, Spencer set the files down on the coffee table and sat on the couch. Derek sat next to him and put his arm around Spencer's shoulders. Spencer scooted closer and leaned his head on Derek's shoulder.

They both stared at the stack of files until Spencer said, "Are you ready?"

Derek nodded. "Yeah. It's just weird. We've talked about, but now it's finally happening."

"I know what you mean."

Spencer leaned forward and grabbed the pile, setting it next to him on the couch. He grabbed the first one and put it where they both could see it. He took a deep breath and opened it.

Inside was a picture of a girl around twelve years old. "Amelia. She's been in foster care for three years," Derek read aloud.

Spencer spoke up. "I think we should look for a young child. Older foster children tend to have a distrust of adults. While trying to get to know them, we may be gone sometimes, which wouldn't help them to trust us."

Derek nodded. "Alright Baby Boy. So, what? Below five?"

"I'd say that's a good age."

They looked through the files and focused solely on the ages. There were only four children below the age of five. 

The first on they looked at was a little boy named Jamie. He was four years old. They read through his information and thought that he seemed like a good kid. The file said that he was a pretty out-going child who liked to play soccer. His favorite food was hot dogs. They set his file on the table. 

Next was little Jessica. She was two and a half, almost three. They immediately decided not to choose her. Her file said that she hated to be around men, due to abuse by the hands of her father and other men her father brought around. They put her file in a separate file. 

Then there was Bennett. He was three and a half years old. According to the papers, he was a bit shy. His favorite things to do were read and watch cartoons. He'd been in foster care since birth. They set his file down with Jamie's.

The fourth one was another young boy. His name was Gabriel and he was four years old. He also didn't do well with new people. When he met prospective parents, he got nervous and would cry. Derek and Spencer felt bad for him, but they wouldn't be able to take him. With the team plus Derek's family, there would be a lot of unfamiliar people.

Not that they had it narrowed down to a couple of children, they had to call Ms. Nelson tomorrow morning to see when they could meet the kids. 

The two men were tired so they had a quick dinner and laid in bed, watching television until they fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the long wait. This chapter was being stubborn.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our favorite couple meet the boys... What will happen?

Spencer called Ms. Nelson an hour after they got to work on Wednesday. He informed her about their decision to meet with Jamie and Bennett.

"Those are good choices. Do you think you guys will be available this weekend? Say, Saturday?"

"Umm, we should be. As far as I know, we'll be in town."

She said, "Great. Well, you guys can come in on Saturday, around 11:00. Does that sound okay?"

Spencer looked at Derek who nodded. "Yes, that sounds fine."

"Good. I'll see you guys then."

Spencer hung up the phone and turned to Derek. "Did you hear all of that?"

Derek nodded. "Yeah. Saturday sounds perfect."

"Yep. But now we have to wait three while days until then."

Derek clapped a hand on his shoulder and said, "It'll be Saturday before you know it."

Spencer rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say."

>< >< >< >< ><

Derek was wrong. He was so wrong, and Spencer had absolutely no qualms about letting him know. The rest of the week had passed by so slowly that Spencer was slowly going out of his mind.

And when Friday evening did arrive, all he wanted to do was go home and lay on the couch and cuddle with his husband. Those plans were ruined, however, when Garcia met them as they walked out of the bullpen.

"Hello, my favorite lovebirds."

"Hey Baby Girl. What're you up to?"

"The rest of us are all heading to the bar for dinner and drinks. You guys in?"

Derek looked at Spencer, and could tell how tired he was. "I don't know. It's getting late, and we've got a busy day tomorrow..."

She pulled out her pouty face. "Please? Just for a little while?"

Derek hesitated. He was surprised when he heard Spencer say, "Sure. We'll see you guys there."

"Damn right you will. Now, hurry your cute little butts up. We've got a table reserved for us, and Jayje and I are heading on over right now."

They watched as she left and Derek turned to his husband. "You sure you wanna go?"

Spencer nodded. "Yeah." He sighed.

Derek grabbed the other man's hand and laced their fingers together. He realized that they weren't in the most private place, so he quickly led them outside and to their car. Once inside, Derek said, "What's up, Pretty Boy?"

"It's just... after tomorrow, our lives are changing and I just want some semblance of normalcy. You know?"

Derek nodded and looked out the window. "I do. And you're right. Let's go out, watch the girls get plastered and try to dance... It'll be fun."

Spencer grinned. "We're not allowed to get drunk. I don't want us to be hung over the first tome we meet our child."

Derek laughed and grabbed Spencer's hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it. "Deal."

Spencer would acknowledge that Derek was right this time. They did have fun. JJ, Emily, and Garcia did indeed get plastered. The men watched as they got giggly, trying to out-dance each other.

Spencer found it particularly hilarious when Prentiss focused her drunken attention on Hotch. Aaron turned down her invite to come dance, but Spencer could see the small smile on their boss's lips.

They stayed at the bar until Garcia and JJ could no longer make it to bathroom without assistance. Derek and Spencer offered to drive the three women home since they were all going to crash at Garcia's, which was only a few minutes from their house.

They all exchanged hugs and said their goodbyes. "I want you three to drink plenty of water and take some aspirin. I can't have half my team hung over if we get called in," Hotch said, but not unkindly. Frankly, he thought their alcohol-induced antics were amusing.

Prentiss grinned and saluted Aaron. "Yes Sir."

Spencer and Derek loaded the intoxicated women into the SUV before heading toward Penelope's house. Once they arrived, Derek and Spencer thanked whoever was listening that Pen didn't live upstairs. They helped the women into bed, or onto the couch as was the couch for Emily. They set out glasses of water and some ibuprofen.

Finally, they could go home. At the house, Spencer grabbed his husband's hand and pulled him toward the stairs, dead set on sleeping. Derek just chuckled and followed. Reaching the bedroom, both men stripped down to their boxers before climbing into the bed.

Spencer sighed as he laid his head on the pillow, feeling Derek's warm body curl around him. He really was exhausted.

Derek's hand rubbed his stomach before his fingers began drawing patterns on Spencer's hip. His hand crept lower and Spencer's eyes popped open. "Derek, if you put your hand down my pants, I swear to god, you're sleeping on the couch."

Derek gave a throaty chuckle and pressed a kiss to the side of the younger man's neck. "Fine, but tomorrow, you're gonna get it."

Spencer huffed. "Shut up and sleep."

"Yes ma'am."

>< >< >< >< >< 

Derek's hands were shaking and Spencer's heart was racing so fast that, under any other circumstances, he would probably be concerned. But it was to be expected, after all. They were probably about to meet the child that would become theirs.

Upon entering the building, the men were directed to the room where they would meet with the children. Ms. Nelson was already waiting for them. "Hello gentlemen."

"Hello Ma'am." Derek replied. "How are you?"

"I'm doing fine. How are you two?"

Spencer looked at Derek and grinned. "Excited. And nervous."

She smiled. "That's very common in prospective parents. Would you like to sit?" She gestured to the small table with small chairs, obviously made for children. Spencer couldn't help the snicker that came out at the sight of his large husband in the chair, which looked tiny in comparison.

"So you would like to meet with Jamie and Bennett, correct?" They nodded. "I'll bring Jamie in first. One thing though..." She hesitated. "In the past few months, he's been having some behavior issues. He's been very angry and has been lashing out, and we can't figure out why. The other children are wary of being around him." She looked at them. "Would you still like to meet with him?"

They nodded. "Yes. If it doesn't work out, then it wasn't meant to be."

She smiled. "Okay. I'll bring him in then."

The couple sat in silence as they waited for the young boy. A minute later, the door opened and a small child entered, followed by Ms. Nelson, who simply gave them a frown before closing the door.

They watched as the child walked right by them, straight to a shelf where he grabbed a box containing Hot Wheels. He sat on the floor next to the table and began rolling he small cars back and forth.

After a moment, he asked, "You guys are married?"

Derek glanced at Spence and nodded, saying, "Yeah."

The boy pulled a face, but didn't say anything for a few seconds. When he did, he said, "My mom said that's bad. She said you'll go to the bad place."

From his file, they'd learned that Gabriel's mother had been a cocaine addict who was constantly entertaining her 'boyfriends' with Gabriel in the next room.

Spencer spoke up. "I don't think that's true. It's not a bad thing."

The boy shrugged. "I think it's gross."

Thankfully, it seemed as though Ms. Nelson had been waiting outside the door, and had heard the conversation. She entered, obviously hearing what the child had said. "Hey, Gabe. Ms. Jenny's here."

The boy stood up and walked out the door without looking back. Ms. Nelson closed her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea he'd say something like that."

Derek offered a small smile. "It's not your fault."

She smiled back. "I know. I still feel bad, though. Anyway, would you like to meet Bennett now?"

Spencer nodded. "Yes please."

She nodded. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

As soon as she left the room, Spencer turned to Derek and laid his head on the man's shoulder. Derek put his arm around Spencer and pressed a kiss to the Sid of the younger man's head. Neither spoke, simply waiting for the door to open. And when it did, Ms. Nelson walked in, holding the hand of a small boy with dark hair.

"Bennett? This is Derek, and this is Spencer." The child looked up and gave the couple a shy smile.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Hi Bennett," Spencer said. "How are you?"

"Good. Can we play with the blocks?"

"Of course." He grabbed the box of wooden blocks and watched as the boy sat down on the floor. He pulled out a handful of them and began to stack them.

"Do you mind if we sit with you?" Derek asked.

The boy shook his head, so they sat down across from him. He passed them each some blocks and they worked together to build a tower.

"So Bennett, do you like to read?" Spencer knew that he did, and he was hoping that by talking about something the boy liked, he would feel more relaxed.

"Yeah."

"What's your favorite book?"

He shrugged. "I like Dr. Seuss."

Derek grinned. "Me too. My favorite is 'Are You My Mother?'. What's yours?" He winked at Spencer as the young boy thought for a few moments.

Finally, he said, "The Butter Battle."

Spencer thought that was a very interesting choice, but chose not to comment. Instead he said, "I like that book too. What else do you like to do?"

"I like movies. And Dragon Tales."

Derek smiled. "That's a good one. My nieces and nephews like to watch that."

"I like doggies too."

"We have a dog. His name's Clooney."

The boys eyes widened. "Really?" Derek nodded. "That's cool. I wanted a dog but Ms. Sarah doesn't like dogs so I can't have one." He seemed so sad that it made the men want to hug him.

Bennett focused on stacking his blocks so they wouldn't topple over. They were silent as they played with the building blocks. A couple minutes later, the door opened. "Bennett? It's time to go back to Ms. Sarah."

The young boy frowned, but stood up and walked over to Derek and Spence as they stood as well. He surprised them by quickly hugging their legs.

"Bye Bennett," Derek said.

He waved to them both and walked out the door. While Ms. Nelson was gone, they used the opportunity to talk. They both were thinking the same thing.

When she returned, she said, "So? What are you thinking?"

Spencer glanced at his husband before smiling at the woman. "We'd like like to proceed with the adoption of Bennett."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesss! This chapter was so goddamn difficult to write, I have no idea why. I've actually had it written for almost two weeks, but the site wouldn't let me upload it. But, I've got it now, so please let me know what you think. Also, I really wish this site had beta readers, because that would be helpful... Am wondering: How do you feel about smut? Yes, No? I will of you guys like, I was gonna, but I want to know what you guys think. Leave your opinion in a review please. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a teensy bit of fluff while I figure out the next chapter.

After making their decision, the pair of men followed Clara back to her office. They had to fill out a little bit of paperwork before Clara told them what would happen next.

"At a later time, preferably next weekend, you two will need to meet with Bennett again and ask him if he would like to be adopted by you two." She smiled. "Assuming he says yes, you guys will be able to take him for weekends, starting the weekend after next." She shuffled her folders around. "And your paperwork to file to foster him has been submitted."

Spencer grinned and squeezed his husband hand. "Thank you so much."

She smiled. "You're welcome. I'm glad I could help you two." She stood. Now if you don't mind, I must be going. I have to go meet with Bennett's foster mother."

The men stood up and shook her hand. After exchanging more thank yous and goodbyes, the happy couple was on their way out the door. 

Once out the door of the office, they stood there, still trying to grasp what an important decision they'd just made.

"This is happening," Spencer said. "I can't believe it." He wrapped an arm around his husband's waist.

"I know, baby. But I think we made the right decision." He pressed a kiss to the top of Spencer's head as they made their way to the car.

"Me too." He smiled. "God, he's so cute. I don't understand how anybody could give something like that up."

"Some people just aren't meant to be parents, I guess. But here's to hoping that it'll all work out in the end."

                     >< >< >< >< ><

That night, the men decided to stay home and relax. The day had been had quite exciting. The next day though, they went out for brunch with the rest of the team and their families.

At the large table, Spencer sat next to Derek with Henry on his other side, with Derek on the end. On the other side of Henry sat JJ and Will. Across from them were Rossi, Hotch, Jack, Prentiss, and Garcia, in that order.

The table was noisy with the large amoubt of people, the two children especially. Henry was busy telling Spence and Derek about all the cool things he'd done at the park the day before, while Jack was bragging about how he was ahead of his class in math.

Really though, everybody was anxious to hear about how their visit at the agency was. Finally, once everyone had their food and drink, Garcia asked, "Tell us! How did it go? Were they cute? I bet it was hard to choose."

Derek smiled at her and shook his head. "Not exactly. One of them had an isse with our... life choices," he said. He didn't want to say anything outright in front of the children present. The adults nodded understandingly. 

"Did you make any definite decisions?" JJ asked.

Spencer smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we did. His name is Bennett."

"Aww, that's such a cute name. Is there a photo of the little guy?"

Derek nodded and pulled out his phone. He found the picture that he'd taken of Bennett's photo in the file and handed his cellphone to Penelope.

"Look at him. He's adorable."

Derek nodded. "He is."

"So what do you guys do now?" Hotch asked.

Spencer told them all about the next steps, and where they'd go from there.

Everybody seemed satisfied with that, and went back to their breakfast. At times like these, they were all able to enjoy having such a close family. It was nice to have people to lean on and to support you. 

And ot was really apparent just how close-knit they were.

Especially when they noticed Garcia giving Prentiss a sly grin when she noticed how close the brunette was with little Jack, helping him with his food. He'd called her Emmy. 

When they were all finished, and it was time for everyone to head home, they all exchanged hugs, as well as congratulations for Spencer and Derek.

On the way home, they made a quick stop at the grocery store for stuff for dinner, before finally heading home. They decided that today was another lazy day, considering that they could be headed anywhere the next day.

They lay on the couch, Derek spooned behind Spencer. They were watching a movie, content with the warm feeling of being near each other. 

Derek tightened his arm around Spencer's waist and pressed a kiss to the younger man's ear, sighing happily, sending shivers through Spence.

"I love you so much," Derek said.

"I love you too Derek," the other man whispered. 

The rest of the night passed quickly. They simply laid on the couch watching films, making out, and enjoying each other's company. It was quite nice.

They slept contentedly until the silence of early morning was broken by thw ringing of Spencer's phone.

"Hello?"

"We've got a case," JJ said without even a greeting. "Hotch said it's a bad one. We're wheels up in forty minutes."

Spencer sighed. "Okay. We'll see you guys there." He hung up and turned to wake his husband.

The day wasn't off to a very good start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something real small for you. I'm starting on the next chapter right now. And if you don't want smut, speak now or forever hold your peace. If not, It's coming up in the next chapter.
> 
> And also, just for a reference, in this fic Henry is around three and Jack is about seven.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Bennett and his adorable self.

The case was a brutal one. It kept them in Ohio for six days. Saturday morning they finally arrested Jack Richardson and saved the little girl he had kidnapped Thursday night.

She was home, safe and sound, leaving the team feeling a bit better. The best cases were the ones where children were returned to their families. 

The team retired to the hotel after eating lunch as they all wanted to be rested for their 5 o'clock a.m. flight.

Spence and Derek were in the elevator, heading to the fifth floor. Derek was kissing Spencer's neck and had his hand creeping closer to Spencer's butt.

The younger man laughed and said, "Derek, stop it. We're at work."

Derek sighed, but did as he was told. He stood patiently until they were in the hallway outside their door. He was crowding Spencer against the door, but not touching him.

It took a minute, but eventually the other man was able to unlock the door. As soon as they were in the room, the door was slammed shut and Spencer found himself shoved against the cool wood of the door. A surge of warmth gathered in his belly as Derek pressed his warm body against his. 

Spencer grinned and cupped his hand around the back of Derek's neck and pulled him in for a kiss.  The older man placed his hand on the back of Spence's head. He moaned in response, pressing his body closer and pulling on Derek's bottom lip with his teeth. 

"The bed, Pretty Boy," Derek said.

Spencer nodded quickly and grabbed Derek's hand, pulling him to bed. Spencer laid down and pulled the other man on top of him.

"What happened to 'No, we're at work'?" Derek said, chuckling. He slid his hand under the other man's shirt.

"Shut up," Spencer said, cupping Derek through his jeans.

The older man moaned and pulled off Spencer's sweater vest and quickly unbuttoned Spencer's shirt. He threw it across the room.

Spencer returned the favor and rid Derek of his shirt as well. He grinned and leaned over, running his tongue over a dark nipple and gently biting down.

"Fuck," Derek cursed. He grabbed Spencer's wrists and held them down as he pressed open mouthed kisses to Spencer's chest, stopping to play with his nipples. Spencer moaned as Derek continued down his torso. His breath quickened as the other man's hands began to undo his belt and button, leaving him in his jeans that were quickly stripped off as well, leaving him in his boxers.

Spencer thought it unfair that Derek still wore his pants, so he reached down and unbuttoned them, pushing them down and off with his feet. Derek lowered his body onto Spencer's and ground down. Spencer groaned and placed his hand on Derek's ass, pulling Derek's hips tighter against his own.

Derek grinned against ground down a bit harder, enjoying how his husband closed his eyes in pleasure. He reached around and was about to slip his hand into the back of Spencer's boxers when there was a loud bang at the door.

"Hey guys. We're all gonna head out for dinner get your asses out here," JJ said.

Both of their eyes widened. Spencer cleared his throat and said, "We'll be out in a minute."

"You better. We'll be waiting in the lobby."

When they heard her footsteps fade away, Spencer groaned. "Oh god. That was awkward."

Derek didn't respond, instead he reached down and pushed down both of their boxers. He wrapped his hand around both of them and stoked quickly.  Just a few minutes later, he was breathing faster as he felt his pleasure building. "Derek!" Spencer shouted as he came, Derek following behind a few seconds later.

"Oh my god," Spencer muttered. Derek just chuckled and kissed him.

"What do you say about food?"

"I'm starving, but I really don't want to get up right now."

"I know, but the sooner we eat, the sooner we can come back up here."

Spencer frowned, but got up and put on his clothes. "Asshole." The other man shook his head and chuckled and began to put his clothes on again.

Once they were presentable, they headed downstairs to the lobby. By the looks on their friend's faces, they knew exactly why they were late. As they walked out of the hotel, Hotch said, "How many times do I have to tell you guys? Not while we're on the job."

The others laughed and Spencer's simply blushed. "Come on Pretty Boy," Derek said. "Let's go eat."

>< >< >< >< ><

By the time they got back home and ate some breakfast, it was mid-morning. Spencer had spoken to Clara the evening before and they were supposed to meet with Bennett at three o'clock, which gave them approximately six hours to stress out. They were sitting on the couch at home and relaxing- or at least trying to. 

Spencer was reading a book with his feet propped up om the table. Derek had a book in his hand as well, but Spencer could tell that he wasn't really reading based on the fact that he hadn't turned the page in eleven minutes.

After he sighed for a fourth time, Spencer set down his book and leaned over, resting his head on the other man's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Spence reached down and pinched his thigh. "Ow! Damn it."

"I repeat. What's wrong?"

After a moment he said, "I guess I'm just a little anxious about today."

Spencer leaned up and kissed Derek softly. "I'm sure it'll go fine." He leaned his head back down on Derek's shoulder. "We just have to think positive. We've completed the home study, the hardest part which took months, and passed with flying colors. Hopefully today will go just as smoothly."

Derek nodded. "You're right. As usual."

"Of course I am," the younger man said and picked up his book second book of the day, picking up where he'd left off. Derek chuckled at that and pressed a kiss to the top of Spence's head, grabbing his own book.

They passed the next few hours like that, in comfortable peace before deciding to head out for lunch to take their minds off of things. They chose their favorite Chinese food restaurant and headed over.  Derek ordered chow mein and sweet and sour pork while Spencer requested fried rice and orange chicken. When their food arrived, Derek snickered when Spencer picked up a fork instead of chopsticks. He'd known Spencer a long time, but he still though it funny that the man was incapable of using chopsticks.

 Spencer scowled when he heard his husband laugh. "Shut up." He took a bite. "Did you know that worldwide, only about thirty percent of people use chopsticks correctly?"

Derek raised his eyebrows. "Really. Interesting."

"It really is." He went on to tell Derek about how use them properly. "A lot of people tend to hold them toward the middle, but you're supposed to hold them two-thirds of the way up, actually." This conversation lasted ten minutes.

Derek let him ramble on partly because he thought it was cute, and partly because he knew that this was Spencer's way of showing that he was just as nervous about the meeting today. 

Once they had finished their food, Derek said, "We should probably get over to there. Spencer nodded. They paid their bill and got going. Once they arrived, they were once again led to the room with the toys and tiny chairs. Clara smiled. "Are you guys excited?"

Derek grinned. "That's one way to put it."

She laughed. "Yes, I suppose. And once again. You two are absolutely sure about your decision?" They both nodded. This was exactly what they wanted. "Okay then. Any last minute questions?" They shook their heads. "Great, then I'l go get Bennett."

She left and the two men stood anxiously, knowing that their lives might change drastically within the next few minutes. They didn't relax until the door opened and they saw Clara holding Bennett's hand. He saw them and rushed over. HE hugged them, which chocked the two men. "Derek! 'Pencer!"

Spencer smiled. "Hi Bennett. How are you?"

"Good. I got a new book yesterday."

"Oh yeah?" Derek said. "Which book?"

The little boy smiled. "Are You My Mother. It's your favorite right?" he said, looking at Derek."

Elated that the boy had remembered that small fact, he smiled brightly. "It sure is. have you read it?" 

The boy nodded. "Yeah. I read it yesterday." He walked over to the shelf of toys and once again pulled out the blocks. "CAn you guys play with me?" he asked looking up at them. Spencer nodded and they sat down.

"What do you want to make?"

He though for a few moments. "A castle?"

"Okay. Castles are cool."

"The building of castles originated around the ninth century, over eleven hundred years ago, you know."

Bennett's eyes widened. "Wow." He began constructing his own castle. The two men helped to make sure it didn't topple over. They were wondering when the best time was to broach the subject of their adoption. Finally, Spencer nodded at Derek to start talking.

He cleared his throat "Hey Bennett?" The little boy hummed as he continued to play with the blocks. "We have something that we want to ask you," he said. 

Bennett looked at them quizzically. "What?"

"We were wondering if maybe... if you'd..."

Spencer spoke up. "We were wondering if you wanted to come live with us."

The boy set down his toy and tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

Derek glanced at his husband, then back at Bennett. "We want to adopt you."

Bennett frowned and looked down at the ground. "How long would I live with you guys?"

"Forever," Spencer answered. "As long as you want." He reached over and grabbed Derek's hand as they waited for his answer, silently hoping it wasn't negative.

They needn't have worried. The boy's eyes widened and he smiled. "Really?!" They nodded. "Yay. I want to live with you guys."

The men felt themselves tear up as they reached over and pulled the child in for a hug. After a few long moments, Bennett said, "You guys are squishing me."

They laughed through their tears and released him, but still held onto each other. "We're sorry," Derek said. "We're just really happy."

Bennett nodded. "When can I come live with you guys?" He seemed excited by the idea. 

"Well, starting next weekend, you can come stay the weekends at our house. After about a month or so, you can stay permanently," Spencer said.

"Cool!"

"Yep," Derek agreed. "Hey, what's your favorite color?" 

"I like light green," Bennett answered.  Derek filed that information away for later. They all three looked up as the door opened and Ms. Nelson walked in.

Knowing it was time to go, Bennett frowned and hugged the two men. "Bye," he said.

"Bye," Spencer said, and Derek as well. "We'll see you next weekend alright?"

The child nodded and waved as he left. The couple embraced, feeling overwhelmingly joyful. 

After talking with Clara and filling out the necessary paperwork, they were ready to go home and prepare. Once in the car though, Derek pulled out his phone and dialed Penelope. "Hello, oh my god, how did things go?" she asked excitedly.

He grinned. "We got him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like. If you guys have anything you want me to include in the story, let me know.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer is not the best at handiwork, and Derek doesn't like to read the instruction manuals. And chocolate chip pancakes are fucking delicious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, sorry, sorry. I am so sorry. My internet hasn't been working and I'm doing this from my phone right now, and I swear to god, every time I backspace all the words get all funky and random letters appear. I swear it won't take me twenty-one days to update next time. And my computer shut down while I was writing this and deleted half the chapter. Ugh. End rant.

Spencer and Derek were currently at Ikea, looking for furniture and things for Bennett's bedroom. They hadalready picked out a bed. It was a nice dark wood frame with a twin size mattress.

They were currently looking at shelves to put in the bedroom. "I like this one." Derek pointed to a sturdy bookshelf. 

"Really? I like this one better." He indicated a large shelf with square compartments. "And we can also put it on its side since, obviously, Bennett is not very tall."

"Okay." Derek nodded. "Which color?"

"This one. It matches the bed frame."

Derek leaned over and picked up the very heavy box and set it in the cart. "Alrighty. Where to next?"

They made their way through the store, buying all the necessities as well as a few extra things.

By the end, they checked out with the bed, the shelf, a matching dresser and nightstand, a lamp, and a bean bag chair. They swung byanother store to buy a booster seat as well. They planned to take Bennett to the toy store when they picked him up, as well as going to buy his bedding.

Once they arrived home, Derek went to unlock the door while Spencer went to the trunk. He went to grab the box containing the shelf, but quickly gave up. That thing was too damn heavy. "Derek can carry that one."

He grabbed the beanbag in one hand, and the lamp in the other and went inside.

Spencer watched as Derek carried in the heavy box, enjoying the way that his husbands arm flexed, muscles rippling. Derek turned and noticed Spencer's staring. 

He smiled and shook his head. "Now, now. None of that. Otherwise we'll never get his room put together."

They brought in the bed frame and mattress and took a quick break before carrying everything upstairs. 

"What first?" Spencer said.

"Why don't we get the bed set up? Then once we get that where we want it, we can figure everything else out."

The bed frame wasn't too difficult, and somewhat soon they had the bed ready in the far corner on the right side of the room. The shelf proved more challenging.

"What in the hell?"

"How far am I supposed to screw this thing in?"

"Why are there so _many_ of these things?"

"Literally, how is this supposed to fit in this hole? It's nearly twice as wide."

"Why don't we just read the manual?"

"I got this, don't worry."

Spencer had looked at it before, but he didn't understand much. What the hell was a cam lock?

After a frustrating twenty minutes without much results, Derek groaned in defeat. "Fine, just give me the damn thing."

He grabbed the little booklet, and within two minutes was starting to fit the pieces together. "See, now it's just like a puzzle." They put in the final screws and finally the shelf was built.

"Thank god," Spencer muttered as he walked by his husband.

Derek reached out and swatted Spencer's ass. "I heard that."

Spencer's laughter trailed down the hall as he went to get a glass of water. 

Luckily, the nightstand didn't need to be put together, so he put it next to the bed and set the lamp on it, placing the light green lampshade on top. Ta-da.

Derek went back downstairs and sat down on the couch, his husband joining him a minute later. "What else is there do?" 

"Nothing really," Spencer answered. I have some books left from when I was a child. I want to put those on his shelf."

"Those books might be too advanced," Derek commented, knowing that Spencer had been incredibly smart even as a child. 

"I did read children's books, believe it or not." Derek chuckled and pressed a kiss to Spencer's temple. 

"I know, Pretty Boy. I'm just kidding." They didn't move for several hours, until it was time for dinner. After eating reheated leftovers from the night before. 

It was Thursday night. Surprisingly, there hadn't been a whole lot of paperwork to do that morning. Hotch had let them go early as long they finished their minimal paperwork. They had gone straight to Ikea. They planned to let Bennett pick out most of the stuff for his room. And also, they knew Garcia was most likely going to buy a metric shit ton of toys and clothes for the child. 

The next day though, they were all swamped with paperwork, and Rossi and Emily were sent to Montana to consult with the local PD. If there seemed to be a case they would all most likely fly out Sunday or Monday, depending. Needless to say, Derek and Spencer were hoping Monday for two reasons. One, obviously they wanted to have as much time with Bennett as possible. Two, if they left Monday, it would be because their wasn't a large risk of a new victim, which was good.

None of them left until six o'clock, and Hotch and JJ had to stay even later. Spencer and Derek stopped off at a restaurant and ordered their food to go. Once home, they went directly upstairs to their bedroom. Once home, they went directly upstairs to their bedroom. Spencer popped in a movie and they sat on their bed, eating their inner. They finished, and Spencer set their containers on the nightstand to throw away in the morning. Neither notice when they fell asleep.

When Spencer awoke in the morning, he rolled over and looked at the alarm clock, checking to see how much time until it went off. His eyes widened. He reached over and shook his husband's leg. "Derek. Derek." Nothing. He leaned over and put his mouth right next to Derek's ear. "Derek!"

He jolted up in the bed. "What? What is it? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Spencer repeated. "We need to be at the agency in thirty minutes, that's what's wrong." He jumped out of bed.

"Shit." Derek hopped out of bed as well and headed into the bathroom. While he did his business, Spencer was busy getting dressed. 

He pulled on his black jeans, a white button-up shirt, and a red cardigan. At the last minute, he decided to put on a black tie. He was tightening it when Derek walked out of the bathroom in his boxers after having just brushed his teeth. Assuming from Spencer's outfit that they were going with nice casual clothes, he put on his good jeans and a maroon henley t-shirt. After donning his nice boots, he deemed himself ready. "Ready?" he asked Spencer.

He nodded. "Yeah. Just let me brush my teeth." He could not remember a time when he had ever brushed his teeth quicker.  He ran down the stairs. "Alright, let's go."

They quickly got into the car and Derek pulled out of the driveway. Normally, Spencer wouldn't allow derek to drive aggressively, but it would not look good if they were late on the day that they were supposed to pick up their future child. So he was fine with it, just this once.

They made it with four minutes to spare. They rushed inside and took a few deep breaths before walking up to the desk. Derek was about to give her their name, when he heard someone calling their names. 

"Derek! Spencer!" They looked over and saw Bennett coming towards them, flinging around a stuffed animal. They crouched down to his height and he gave them both a hug. 

"Hey buddy," Spencer said. "How are you?"

"Good! Look it. I got all my stuff." He lifted up his bag which was packed so full of stuff that it was almost too heavy for him to carry.

"Yeah you do," Derek said. "Are you ready?" Bennett nodded. 

Clara smiled at them. "Starting next weekend, you guys will be pickings  up Bennett was from his foster home."

"Okay. Perfect." He smiled and waved at her. "Thank you so much."

"It was no problem. Good luck."

Derek nodded and turned to Bennett. "Want me to carry that?" he asked gesturing to the bag.

The boy shook his head. "Nope. I got it." He slung it on his shoulder and started walking. The two men held in their laughs. The strap on the bag was too long and the bag was dragging on the ground. Bennett was walking along a lowly, pulling at it to move faster, while trying to maintain hold of his turtle.

Once they made it out the doors, Derek reached down and picked up Bennett, settling him on his hip.

"Hey!"

"Sorry. I just don't want your bag to drag in the parking lot. It's dirty."

The boy shrugged and laid down his head on Derek's shoulder. "Okay."

Spencer looked over and smiled at the picture they made. Pulling out his phone, he snapped a quick photo and sent it to Penelope, knowing that she was expecting plenty of pictures over the weekend.

Derek buckled Bennett into his booster seat and got into the driver's seat. He started car and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Have you eaten yet?" Derek asked. Bennett shook his head. "No? Well how do pancakes sound?"

"Mmm, I like pancakes." The two men chuckled.

"Good. We'll go out to breakfast then. Sound good?"

Bennett frowned. "Can Franklin come?" he asked and held up his stuffed turtle.

"Of course he can."

"Okay." He began to play with his turtle and Spencer watched in his mirror. "I want chocolate chip." God, he was a cute kid.

The diner was just down the road from their house. When they pulled into the parking lot, Spencer hopped out of the car and opened the door for Bennett, helping his out. He stood in the middle of the two men and held both of their hands.

When they entered, Ronnie, the owner, walked over with her hands on her hips. "Oh, lookie here. Where have you boys been?"

Derek grinned. "Sorry Ronnie. We've just been busy with work, and this guy." He gestured to Bennett, who was hiding slightly behing Derek's leg.

"And who's this little guy?"

Spencer grinned. "This is Bennett."

She smiled and walked over. "Hey there Bennett. You like pancakes?" She got a tiny nod in response. "What kind?"

"Chocolate chip," he replied shyly.

"Well you're in luck, because I just so happen to make the best chocolate chip pancakes in the whole wide world."

Bennett's eyes widened and he looked up at Spencer. "Really?"

Trying to keep his expression serious, he nodded. "Yep. The very best."

He grinned and Ronnie chuckled. "Why don't y'all go have a seat and I'll be right over."

They chose to sit in a round corner booth with Bennett in the middle. True to her word, Ronnie showed up an minute later.

"What can I get you guys to drink?"

They looked to Bennett first and he looked at Derek. "Can I have some apple juice?"

"Sure buddy. I'll have some coffee please."

Spencer nodded. "Me too, and a glass of water as well please."

"Sure thing. Gina will be over in a few minutes to take your orders."

When she left, Spencer turned to look at the small child next to him. He was fidgeting with his toy. Spencer gave him a small smile and looked up as the waitress walked over.

"Good morning. What can I get you guys?"

"Can I get a short stack of waffles please?" Gina nodded and jotted that down on her notepad. Derek ordered blueberry pancakes.

"And you?" she asked Bennett. 

He bounced in his seat. "Chocolate chip pancakes!"

She smiled. "Alrighty. That should be out soon."

 Once she walked away, Derek said, "Hey Bennett, how would you like to go shopping?"

The boy frowned. "For what?"

"Clothes, toys, stuff for your room. All kinds of good stuff," Spencer assured him.

After a moment, Bennett shrugged. "Okay." Derek smiled and looked over at his husband, sending him a wink.

Ten minutes later, there was a hot plate of food in front of all of them. Bennety took a sip from his apple juice, slurping through his straw. He set it back down and looked at his pancakes. He bit his lip. "Um, Spencer?

"Yeah buddy?"

"Can you please cut up my food?"  

Spencer could have smacked himself in the face. "Oh yeah, of course." He grabbed a fork and butter knife and cut the pancakes into small pieces. "That good enough?"

Bennett nodded happily and stabbed a piece with his small fork. "Mmm," he hummed and smiled at them, chocolate in his teeth.

Both men chuckled at the adorable picture that he made. They all dug in and it wasn't long until the adults had cleared their plates and Bennett's had a few hunks of pancake left.

"Did you get full?" The little boy nodded. "Alright, then let's head out."

The three of them made their way to the counter where Derek paid their bill. Ronnie gave then a smile as well as a stern, "And you boys better come back and see me real soon. Ya hear?"

Once outside, Spencer sighed. "Alright let's go on over to the clothing store first. It's closer to here."

Derek nodded in agreement and together, they got into the car and went off on their shopping excursion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's kind of a weird place to end this, hut it was getting long and I needed to post something. Next chapter will be the shopping trips and getting acquainted to each other.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shopping trip, bonding, and getting acquainted. And Clooney.

Upon entering the clothing store, the men nearly groaned. The store was huge. Where the hell do you even start?

Spencer looked around. "Alright. Let's start in the back and make our way up to the front." Derek nodded. He didn't have any other ideas.

A few minutes later they found themselves in the pants section. "Okay. Derek clapped his hands together. "Jeans? Shorts?"

Bennett looked around, awed at all the choices. He pointed to the jeans, so that was where they started.

"Do you know what size you are?" Bennett shook his head. Derek had the thought of checking the tag on Bennett's jeans, but he didn't want to make the boy uncomfortable by looking in his pants. He simply turned to the rack. "That's alright. We'll just see what looks like it fits."

He had Bennett pick out a style of pants that he liked and looked at the different sizes. He pulled out one pair, but it looked too small. He grabbed the next size up, 3T, and held it up to Bennett. "There we go. How's that?"

Bennett nodded and they helped him picked out four pairs of jeans and two pairs of shorts. They walked over to the next question. "Do you have a bathing suit?"

Bennett frowned. "Nope. I never been swimming."

Spencer raised his eyebrows. "Well, then we might have to get you in some swim lessons in a month or two."

"Why?"

"Because we have a pool at our house."

He looked up at them. "Really?"

Spencer nodded. "Yep. And it's going to start getting even warmer soon, so we'll be in the pool often."

"Cool!"

Since they were already there, Bennett chose a pair of light blue swim trunks with an adjustable drawstring and swim t-shirt.

Next was the shirts. They added four t-shirts and two long sleeved shirts to their cart. It was summertime, but every once in a while their was a surprise rain storm, which was why they also purchased a light jacket. A pair of pajamas, a pack of underwear, and shoes were the last things one their list.

He chose blue converse, because they were like Spencer's. Nobody could argue with his logic.

It was a little over the top, but one thing they know, is that Bennett did not have a lot of clothes. Two of the three times that they had seen him, he had worn the same outfit. And while his bag was full, it was mostly a couple stuffed animals and an old blanket. 

They didn't want Bennett to think that he wasn't allowed to have things. He had had a difficult three years, and they just wanted him to be comfortable and happy.

At the toy store, Bennett chose a set of legos, a set of wooden blocks, a puzzle and a few books, and a couple coloring books.

And for his room, Bennett now had a light green and blue comforter and some little decorations and things to go on the walls.

And finally, after almost three hours of walking through the large stores, they were finally on their way home.

As they pulled into the driveway, Spencer turned in his chair. "This is our house buddy." He turnd back around and said, "Your new home."

Derek put the car into park and turned the key, pulling it from the ignition. They sat or a moment before he looked in the rearview mirror at Bennett. "Ready?"

The boy hesitated for a moment before nodding and reaching over trying to unbuckle himself. Derek chuckled and got out of the car. He opened up the back door and reached in to help Bennett. He lifted him out of the car and set him on the driveway.

Spencer came over and said, "When we go inside, we have to be a little careful because Clooney's going to be excited. Okay?"

Bennett looked up at him and frowned. "Can you carry me?"

Spencer smiled and bent over. "Of course." He placed his hands in Bennett's armpits and lifted him up, settling him on his hip. Derek tossed him the keys and he caught them, slipping them into the keyole and unlocking the door.

When he opened the door, they were greeted with a barking dog. Once he realized that it was Sencer, his tail began to wag and he tried to jump up.  

"No, down." Clooney sniffed at Bennett's feet for a minute before sitting down and cocking his head at his owner. "Can I put you down now?"

"Is it a nice doggy?" At Spencer's nod, he said, "Okay."

Spencer set him down and looked sternly at Clooney. "Easy."

The dog approached the child and smelled him for a minute or two, then leaned forward, licking Bennett's face. The boy laughed. "Eww. He licked my eye."

Derek laughed as he came in, carrying som bags. "Sorry. He's just a big puppy."

Bennett reached out his hand and rubbed Clooney's chest. "I like him."

"Good. Do you want to go sit in the living room with him while we bring in your stuff?"

"Sure."

Ten minutes later, everything was in the hallway outside of Bennett's room. "Are you ready to see your new room?" He nodded and opened the door. After a ment he turned around grinning. 

"Thank you!"

They laughed and carried in his stuff. His clothes went into the dresser first. He made sure they organized it all. First shirts, then pants, then socks and underwear, then pajamas. Everything had to be folded.

They just put his toys on the shelf, knowing that they would just end up strewn around soon enough. Spencer laid the comforter on the bed and slipped the pillowcases on his pillows. 

And that made it final. Bennett had a place to call his own, in their home. Both men found themselves getting a little emotional at the realization. They had a kid.

They continued to hang out in Bennett's room, letting him get used to it. It wasn't long though, until Bennett started to yawn.

"Wanna take a little nap?" The boy gave a few heavy blinks and nodded. "Okay. When you wake up, you can help me make dinner if you want."

"M'kay." He yawned again. They set him on his bed and covered him with the blanket. He was asleep within seconds. Spencer went to the foot of the bed and gently lifted the end of the blanket. He pulled off Bennett's shoes and socks, setting them on the floor nextt o the door.

Then they went back downstairs, leaving the door cracked. Once in the kitchen, Spencer sat on one of the stools by the tall counter.

The happiness shining in his eyes made Derek's chest constrict. "I can't believe we have a kid. Our own kid." His tone was one of awe.

Derek pulled his husband in for a hug, feeling his eyes burn with unshed tears. "I know Baby Boy. It's everything we've ever wanted." He held on for several minutes before pulling back. Looking into Spencer's eyes, he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. "I love you guys so much. So much."

And if the tears fell, Spencer never said a thing because he was just as guilty.

~·~·~·~·~

When Bennett awoke, it took his a moment to realize where he was. When he rememberd, he quickly hopped off the bed, so fast he almost tripped.

He peeked out his bedroom door into the hallway. He didn't see Derek or Spencer, but he could hear them talking. He followed their voices and slowly scooted down the stairs on his bottom. He made his way toward the kitchen, digging his toes into the soft carpet.

He peeked around the doorway and saw that Derek was standing with his arms wrapped around Spencer from behind. His chin was on Spencer's shoulder and he was smiling. He caught sight of something from the corner of his eye amd turned, seeing Bennett.

"Hey there little guy. Have a good nap?" Bennett nodded and walked into the kitchen. 

Spencer reached out and ran his fingers through Bennett's soft hair. "That's good."

"Ready to help me with dinner?"

"What are you making?" Derek grinned. It was just too cute when he asked questions ni his little boy voice, enunciating things.

"That depends. What do you like?"

"Lucky Charms."

Both men snickered. "Well, that's not really dinner food. What else do you like to eat?" 

He thought for a moment before answering. "I like chicken nuggets."

"We can do that. Have you ever made chicken nuggets before?" He shook his head. "Well, there's a first time for everything." Derek went to the fridge and pulled out a few chicken breasts, eggs,  and some parmesan cheese.

He continued to gather ingredients, setting them on the counter. He then picked up Bennett and set him on the counter as well after he washed his hands. "Ready?"

Bennett was put in charge mixing the bread crumbs, spices, and a bit of cheese. Derek caught him more than once, eating little pinches of it. So he hurried up and cut up the chicken.

Reaching over, he withdrew Bennett's hand from the bowl. "If you keep eating that, there won't be enough for dinner."

"Sorry," Bennett said but he was smiling.

Derek shook his head and dipped the chunks of chicken before coating them in bread crumbs.

Once he had lined them on a cookie sheet, he slid it into the oven. He preferred to fry them, but this way they were both healthier and safer to cook around a child. The last thing they needed was for Bennett to get burned.

"What else do you want?"

Bennett shrugged, so Derek went to check what kind of fruits or veggies they had. "Hmm, there's some strawberries, watermelon... and broccoli."

"Broccoli!"

Derek looked at him. "Yeah?"

Bennett nodded. "I like broccoli. It's green."

Derek smiled and pulled it out of the fridge. He was glad that Bennett seemed to like vegetables. He didn't know if it would last, but he would take what he could get.

Fifteen minutes later, Derek and Bennett went to summon Spencer for dinner. They found him relaxing in the living room with a book in hand.

He looked up when they walked in. "Is dinner done?"

Derek nodded as Bennett answered for him. "Yeah. I made chicken."

Spencer raised his eyebrows and grinned at Derek. "Really?" Bennett nodded. "Well, then I'm sure it'll be delicious."

Bennett laughed and they headed to the kitchen to eat. Dinner was good and both men made sure to thank Bennett for helping with dinner.

When they had eaten, Spencer gathered their plates and set them in the sink. "What do we want to do now?"

"Want to watch a movie?" Derek asked, looking at Bennett. He nodded and they headed to the living room.

They were thankful that they had a few child-friendly films for when Jack and Henry came over. They let Bennett choose, and were now sitting down to watch  _Robots._ The men found the underlying adult humor amusing, so they really didn't mind watching the cartoon.

Bennett started to yawn near the end. He was obviously exhausted and could barely keep his eyes open.

Near the end of the film, Bennett slumped over against Spencer, who paused the movie. After a moment, he had Derek pick him up and carry him up to his room. They slid off his jeans and covered him up with his blanket.

They watched him for a couple minutes before deciding to head back downstairs. They decided to finish the movie before heading to bed. 

It was a little early for them, but it had been an eventful day for everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, I'm sorry. I feel like an ass. I said that it wouldn't take me twenty-one days, but it is now just over a month. I just had the worst case of writer's block. 
> 
> Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos! I love them so much. We're now over ten thousand words and nowhere near done. Your guys' feedback is awesome.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek and Spencer have to take Bennett back to his foster home. Glumness ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick question: how explicit should the steamier scenes be? I was gonna include one, but I wasn't sure what words and stuff were too explicit. Let me know, then I'll have the next chapter up soon after.
> 
> Also, I'm sorry but this isn't an eventful chapter at all. I promise that the next one will be extra long.

The next morning, they had cereal for breakfast and watched some cartoons on the television. Derek had snuck out before Bennett had woken up and had gone to the store to buy some Lucky Charms.

They packed up Bennett's things into his bag and he chose to bring along one book that they had bought for him. He said that he had already read all of his books at the foster home.

The men wanted nothong more than to spend more time with the precious little boy, but Bennett's foster mother had requested that he was back before lunch. So, they gathered his things and loaded them into the SUV.

Bennett walked over to the front door and was blocked by Clooney. The boy hugged the dog and said, "Bye Clooney." The dog responded by giving Bennett numerous kisses all over his face and hands. Bennett giggled and they walked out as Clooney watched them, panting with that dopey look that dogs usually had on his face.

During the drive, Bennett was silent, choosing to look out the window. When they arrived, he unbuckled and waited for Derek to open the door for him and help him out of the car.

 They walked up to the porch and both men gave Bennett a tight hug. "We're gonna miss you, buddy," Derek said as he let go of Bennett.

The little boy looked up at them, looking apprehensive. "Are you coming back?"

Spencer knelt in front of Bennett and looked at him seriously. "Of course we're coming back. We'll be here Friday night. And guess what?"

"What?"

Spencer smiled at him. "This time you get to stay two nights at our house."

Bennett smiled. "Cool. You promise?"

Spencer grinned. "I promise."

He gave them both a tight hug and the door opened. A boy of maybe twelve stood there. He didn't say anything, turning around and walking back into the house.

Bennett waved goodbye and followed him in, pushing the door closed. 

Spencer turned to Derek and sighed. Derek knew what he was feeling. He already missed the little guy, and now they had to wait a whole five days until they got to see him again.

Derek slung his arm around Spencer's shoulder and they walked down the driveway, getting into the car. The rest of the day was spent lazily lounging around the house.

The next morning at work, they were met with many questions from Garcia, JJ, and, surprisingly, even Hotch. 

"Those were the cutest pictures ever," Garcia said as she pulled out her phone to show JJ. 

"Awww," she commented. "He's adorable."

"When do we get to meet him?" Garcia asked.

Spencer hesitated. "We're not sure yet. He's a little shy and unsure right now. I'm not sure if introducing him to everybody so soon is a good idea."

Derek agreed. "We'll ask him and see if he's comfortable with that."

"Okay, Garcia said. "But don't wait too long."

JJ nodded. "Yeah. I know Henry wants to meet him. He's excited about having a new cousin."

Spencer grinned. "We'll shoot for next weekend. I want to give him a couple more days to get used to us."

They all took a seat at their desks. Rossi came in and just as he turned to talk to Morgan, JJ came down the stairs with a grim expression. 

"We have a case in Bentley, Arizona. Hotch wants all of us in the conference room now."

They all stood up and made their way upstairs. JJ stood beside the large monitor, remote in hand. Once everyone was seated, she began to speak.

"Jillian Myers' body was found in a public park two weeks ago." She clicked a button and a photo of the crime scene was displayed. Garcia turned away.

The pisture was of a woman's body, naked, with a large incision in her abdomen. There was blood smeared along her side. Flesh was missing along the side of her face.

"Most of her organs were removed, as well as her fingers and toes. And some... skin. None were present at the scene." Another picture. "Kelly Turner was last Wednesday, same injuries. The last picture is of Darren Fuchs. Same thing."

Derek spoke up. "A man?"

JJ nodded. "Yes. No signs of sexual assault on any of the victims."

"Are there any connections between the victims?" Prentiss asked.

"Bentley PD was unable to find anything, but Garcia, we'll need you to look into it."

Garcia nodded and Hotch looked at her. "Garcia, I want you to check everything. Career history, financials, anything you can find."

"Will do, Sir."

Hotch nodded. "Bentley PD wants us there as soon as we can. Wheels up in 30 minutes."

The team dispersed. Derek and Spencer had their bags in the car, so they headed straight to the air strip. The rest of the team arrived within ten minutes. 

The flight was spent reading the file, although they didn't really learn anything new. It was obvious that the police department hadn't been very thorough in their backgrounds of the victims. 

Halfway through the flight, they all decided to relax and get some rest. It would most likely be a late night at the station.

Reid leaned over and placed his head on his husband's shoulder. Derek set down his folder and put his arm around Spencer's shoulders. "Hey Baby."

He lifted his hand and carded his fingers through Spencer's hair. Spencer let out a soft moan and moved closer. He closed his eyes. "That feels good," he muttered.

Derek smiled and kept up his actions. Within a few minutes, Spencer was sound asleep. Even after being together for over three years of being together, Derek was still puzzled by Spencer. He'd seen him stay awake for over 72 hours straight, and he'd seen him sleep for sixteen hours at a time. They'd only been awake for about three hours, yet he was still tired. 

Derek shook his head and pulled out his phone to distract himself until they arrived. 

When they arrived, they were met by a group of police officers.  "My name is Jennifer Jareau, I'm the one you spoke to on the phone. This is SSA Aaron Hotchner, and agents Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss, and Reid."

"Thank you all for coming. We really need your help."

"No problem. Is there somewhere we can set up our stuff?" JJ asked.

"Oh yeah. We have the conference room. It's not much, but hopefully it'll do."

"I'm sure it will be perfect. Thank you."

They group entered the conference room and began to set up their things. They set out their laptop and the files. On the whiteboard, the victims' photos were displayed. Reid had put up a large map of the town and the surrounding counties. 

Hotch addressed the group. "Okay, JJ and Morgan, I want you two to check in with Garcia and see if she found anything in her searches. Then I need you to talk to Darren Fuchs' family." The two of them nodded in understanding. "Prentiss and Reid, you two need to go to the medical examiner's office and take a look at the the last two bodies. The ME should have the test results. Dave, you and I will speak to the Detectives on the case and see if there are any changes yet."

Everybody set out with their instructions. JJ sat quietly in the car as Morgan aggressively maneuvered through the streets. She was used to his driving after working with him for years.

Fifteen minutes later, he stopped the car in front of a beautiful, two-story home. They sat in the car for a minute or two, dreading the conversation ahead of them. Each and every one of them hated seeing the families get teary eyed at the mention of the person they'd lost too soon.The only upside was that at least, this time, they already knew that Darren had died. She didn't have to be the one to break it to them.

Morgan was the first to undo unbuckle his seatbelt. JJ followed a moment later and they climbed out of the SUV. Derek took off his sunglasses and hooked them on the neckline of his t-shirt.

Standing on the front porch, he knocked on the wooden door, waiting beside JJ. A minute later, the door opened. An older man stood in the doorway. He looked just like his son, with the same brown skin and slanted eyes. Except, his eyes were filled with the kind of sadness you only see in people who had known great loss.

Noticing their professional attire, he nodded. "The sheriff called and said you would be coming by. Please come in."

"Thank you. My name is Jennifer, and this Derek. We want to offer our condolences."

"Thank you. It's good to hear that. Everybody else just keeps apologizing. And my name is Terrence, but you probably know that."

A woman entered the room. "Is that them, Dad?" Terrence nodded. The woman offered her hand to the pair of agents. "Hello. I'm Jessica."

Morgan shook her hand, responding. "Hello. This is Jennifer and I'm Derek."

After the inteoductions were all finished, Terrence invited them to sit on the couch. "Would you like something to drink? Water?" he offered, likely trying to put off the inevitable conversation. 

JJ smiled sympathetically. "No thank you, Mr. Fuchs."

He nodded and took a seat next to his daughter. She took hold of his hand. "What do you need to know?"

"Can you tell us about your son? His friends, hobbies?"

"Well, Darren had a lot of friends," Jessica aswered, a sad smile in place. "He was a bit of a bachelor, always out with friends."

Terrence said, "He lived alone in his apartment. He worked afternoons and evenings, but on weekends he was usually out at bars or friends' houses."

JJ nodded. "And he got along with all of his friends?"

"You think he knew the man who did this to him?"

"We're not sure. At this point we don't want to rule anything out."

"Okay. Well, I suppose he did get on good withthem. Sure, they go into arguments, all friends do, but nothing major. As far as I know."

Morgan nodded. "Good. And did he like his job?"

Mr. Fuchs frowned. "He never complained.  He worked as a sous chef at a restaurant downtown. He loved it. It paid well."

JJ looked at the tired man. "Sir? Can you think back to the last few times you saw him? Did he say anything about being followed, or feel like something was off?"

The man visibly teared up. "No, I don't believe he did. He... he was happy! He is- _was_ , a normal kid. Now he's... he's..."

Jessica, who's eyes were red and puffy as well, hugged her father from the side. He squeezed her tight and kissed the top of her head. JJ looked to Morgan and nodded.

JJ smiled. "Okay. Thank you, sir. I believe we're done. You've helped us a lot."

Mr. Fuch stood, as did his daughter. They all shook hands, exchanging their thanks.

As they stepped outside, Morgan slid his sunglasses back on in the hopes of hiding his glassy eyes. JJ didn't seem to notice, so he said nothing as they pulled away from the house. JJ turned on the radio and messed with the controls.

Morgan, meanwhile, was lost in thought. Seeing Terrence Fuchs' reaction to his son made him think. Now that he and Spencer were going to have a kid, it made the families' pain more real. What would happen if they lost Bennett?

No. 

He cut that line of thought off. That wouldn't happen. He and Spencer would do anything to protect the boy. What good was all the training they'd endured of they coudn't even protect the people that mattered most to them?

~·~·~

Spencer and Emily made it to the Medical Examiner's office in less than ten minutes. The drive was filled with small talk. Spencer told her about their weekend with Bennett. Emily mentioned that she was thinking of getting another cat. She seemed a little down.

Spencer grinned. He knew that she harbored a crush on their Unit Chief, although they had an unspoken agreement to nver mention it. Thinking that there was no way in hell anything would come out of it, she had resorted herself to becoming a lonely cat lady. With Sergio and the little kitten who she rescued a few months ago, she would soon qualify for the title of 'Crazy Cat Lady.' 

But Spencer wasn't so sure that she was alone in her feelings. At first, Spencer had thought that perhaps, when he'd caught him staring wistfully at couples in public, that maybe he was missing Haley. That was understandable. Then he'd seen how Aaron would look from the couples to subtly glance at the brunette.

Maybe it wasn't hopeless.

After all, look at what had happened with his infatuation with Derek.

Spencer was jolted from houghts as Emily threw the car into park. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Walking into the room, he was filled with the usual, odd sense of excitement. Seeing the victims' bodies gave him the biggest bout of morbid curiosity. He was grossed out, but he couldn't help the part of him that wanted to reach out and poke it. 

The ME was standing beside the sheet-covered corpse. "I have the test results you wanted." She handed Reid a file of papers and he began to scan them.

After looking over the toxicology report, he nodded, his expectations confirmed. Darren had been drugged, as had Kelly Turner. 

"Right. So, the first victim was struck in the head. Twice. Obviously that wasn't good enough. Then, the Unsub drugged the second victim, which was much easier. It worked, so that's how he subdued the third victim."

Emily nodded in agreement. "Okay. That makes sense." After snapping on gloves, she pulled back the sheet covering Kelly Turner. 

The examiner said, "The heart, liver, ovaries, uterus, and intestines are missing. It's was the same with Ms. Myers. With Mr. Fuchs, it was the heart, liver, intestines, and testes. All three were missing their eyeballs."

"Eyes? That wasn't in the file."

Emily thought for a moment before pondering, "I wonder if it has something to with children? The reproductive organs were removed."

Spencer nodded thoughtfully. "Could be."

Darren Fuchs' body did not present any new information. After ten minutes, they were finished and ready to return to the station. Once they arrived, they shared what they had learned with Hotch and Rossi. Morgan and JJ weren't back yet.

They returned about half an hour later. "I think Emily may be onto something," Hotch said.

But try as they might, they were stumped. Hours later, they called it a night. After checking into their hotel, they got dinner in the hotel's restaurant.

As a rule, they didn't discuss work ehile eating. Nothing spoiled an appetite like missing eyeballs.

The whole team was exhausted. In their room, Spencer flopped onto the bed, groaning into the mattress. Morgan chuckled. "Aren't you gonna change?"

He heard a muffled, "Uh uh."

Derek stripped and pulled on a pair of pajama pants. Walking over to the bed, he took Spencer's shoes and socks off for him and tugged his jeans down his legs. Spencer was able to take off his own sweater vest and button-up. He was left in only his boxers. 

It was a little chilly in the room, but Derek could more than make up for that. He climbed into the bed and scooted under the covers. Pulling Spencer closer to him, he tucked himself around his husband.

~·~·~

Jillian Myers' parents had been called in to answer some questions a week before the team had come to help. Spencer had gotten his hands on the voice recording the next evening. The rest of the team was either working in the conference room, or out doing something.

Reid sat himself in the corner of the room, in a chair. Pressing play, he focused on the interview. 12 minutes and 47 secinds into the tape was when he found something.

He rewound it and replayed that section. He rushed over to the phone and dialed Garcia. "Hello my lovelies, how may I help you?"

"Yeah, hey, I need you to look something up for me?

"That's my specialty."

"Can you look at the victims' medical records?"

"Anything for you." He heard the sound of her typing. "Aaand... Okay. What do you need?"

"I need you to see if Kelly Turner and Darren Fuchs were infertile."

A minute and a half later, his theory was confirmed. "Yes! Katie and Darren both were. Katie, it says in the doctor's notes, was infertile because of drug use, and Darren was born infertile."

"Great. Thank you."

He kept Garcia on the phone and saw the confusion in the team members' faces. He explained. "Emily was headed in the right direction yesterday. On the tape, Jillian's parents were asked of she had any health or madical issues. She was infertile. That gave me an idea." He looked around. "There's an old cannibalistic ritual of a tribe in Papua New Guinea. Some would kill infertile people in the belief that they were stealing energy from the people capable of bearing children. I think the Unsub is eating the victims."

They all had varying degrees of disgust on their faces. Hotch was the first to speak. "Well, then Garcia? Can you look at the doctors and staff who had access to the victims' records? See if any are from there."

After running a search, Garcia called back and reported, "None are from the country, but I have a Natalie Coleman. She was born in the U.S. just after her parents moved here from there. Her parents changed their last name upon becoming citizens."

Rossi looked at Reid in amusement. "I don't know how you do it, but I'm glad that you do."

They made the arrest that night. Coleman was arrested just after returning from her shift at the hospital. It was an easy arrest.

They were all able to sleep that night knowing that in the morning, they'd be going home with another killer off the streets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I am so sorry. Things have been crazy. School started and several family members have been in the hospital. I will try to keep up on my writing, but I do have one other Criminal Minds fic that I'm writing (JJ/Emily). I'm trying to alternate, but it doesn't always work out that way.
> 
> Thanks so much for the comments. I'm trying to sort out the next few chapters, so hopefully they will come quicker.
> 
> Feel free to yell at me if I'm taking too long with an update.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! Bennett, of course is in it. And a pleasant surprise.

Nothing could make them happier.

After the disturbing case earlier in the week, the rest of the week had been filled with monotonous paperwork.

But now, Bennett was in the backseat, humming to himself. That wasn't the best part. No, it was the conversation they'd had with Clara at the foster home this morning. She'd met them there, saying she had 'serious matters' to discuss.

Needless to say, Derek and Spencer were nervous as hell. Apparently, they needn't have been.

"I just wanted to tell you boys," she started. The smile on her made them feel better. "It's been over a month sonce you decided to adopt Bennett. Your petition to foster Bennett until adoption had been approved."

Spencer felt his eyes widen. Derek laughed happily and hugged his husband quickly. In a rush of elation, he hugged Clara quickly, making her laugh. With wet eyes, Spencer smiled and turned to look at Bennett. 

The kid was sitting on the couch, swinging his legs. His shoes were on the wrong feet.

"Thank you."

"You'll get a letter in the mail in a few days. I wanted to let you know first."

He hugged Derek and shook Clara's hand one more time before they walked back over to Bennett.

He held up his arms and Derek picked him up, setting him on his shoulders. Bennett giggled and held onto Derek's head for support. They'd left, high on happiness.

Now, watching the boy who would soon be living with them, was unreal. He couldn't wait.

Oh, he knew it would be hard. Of course it would be. But he wanted it more than anything. And soon, they would have it.

Arriving home, Bennett went up to see his room again, carrying some of his things. Clooney followed close behind.

After a few minutes, Spencer went to check on him. He found him seated on the floor trying to take off his shoes. Spencer chuckled at his frustration and knelt down to help him. He undid the velcro and slipped off Bennett's sneakers.

"Are you hungry?"

Bennett nodded. "Can I have a peanut butter sandwich?"

Spencer nodded. "Of course." They headed down to the kitchen, Spencer walking while Bennett scooted down the steps on his butt. At least they were carpeted.

In the kitchen, Spencer opened the fridge. "Okay, we have grape or strawberry jelly."

"Grape."

Spencer nodded, pulling out the jar and set to work. Once finished, he cut the sandwich into triangles and set it in front of Bennett, along with a sippy cup filled with apple juice. 

While he ate, Spencer went to find Derek. He was in their laundry room, changing into a t-shirt and a pair of sweats from the dryer.

"Hey." He kissed him. 

"Hey. Is he eating?"

Spencer nodded. "Yes." He stretched. "I think we should ask Bennett about meeting the team soon. Then we can tell them about us fostering him at the same time."

Morgan nodded thoughtfully. "Sounds like a plan." They walked out of the room. "We could ask him tonight."

"Maybe we should wait until we find out a little bit more."

Bennett looked up at them fom his seat at the table. He had to sit on a cushion to reach the table. There was peanut butter smeared on his cheeks and hands.

When he was finished, Derek said, "Let's get you cleaned up, okay little man?" Bennett nodded. "Then we can play with some of your toys."

"Yeah!"

Spencer put the boy's dirty dishes in the sink and decided to change his pants too. Now clothed in flannel lounge pants, he went upstairs. Bennett and Derek were in the child's bedroom, pulling out his set of legos. Bennett's face was clear of peanut butter.

"I wanna build a house."

They all grabbed some legos and began to put them together. Bennett shook his head when morgan stacked them on top of each other. "No Derek. Like this."

He began to restack the bricks the wall they'd built, overlapping them so that their edges weren't lined up. "Now it won't break."

 Spencer laughed at Derek and they continued to build a house for a while before moving on to robots and cars. After a while, Bennett started to yawn. Spencer checked his watch. It was a little bit after two o'clock. 

"Do you wanna lay down for a little bit?.

Bennett shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Spencer grinned at Derek. "We can play some more when you get up, and then it'll be about time for dinner."

Bennett nodded this time. He yawned widely. "Okay . Can Clooney stay?" The dog was on the floor next to them.

Derek helped Bennett stand up. "Do you want to change, or just take off your pants?"

In response, Bennett took off his pants and left them on the floor. Derek chuckled and put them in the laundry basket. Bennett climbed onto the bed and Clooney laid on his feet. He ignored the boy pulling at the blankets that he was laying on. 

Derek pushed the dog over and covered the boy. "We'll be downstairs, okay?"

Bennett nodded and closed his eyes. They shut off the light but left the night light on. It was shaped like the Cat in the Hat.

Once downstairs, Spencer sprawled on the couch. Derek sat beside him and pulled him into his side. He kissed the side of Spencer's head and leaned his forehead on the side of his husband's head. 

Spencer smiled and turned to Derek. He leaned up and kissed him lightly. Derek didn't let him pull away. He pressed his lips tighter to Spencer's, sliding his hand into the other man's hair.

Spencer sighed into the kiss and Derek sucked on his bottom lip. Spencer pulled away, out of breath. "There is a three year old right upstairs."

"He's asleep."

"You don't know that." He kissed him again quickly before sitting back, grinning. "He could come down here at any time."

Derek sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Fine, you're right. But tonight, after we know he's asleep, you owe me."

Spencer nodded. "Hungry?"

Derek nodded and stood. "Yeah. I think we have some leftover Chinese food. Sound good?"

"Yeah. Sounds perfect."

Five minutes later, they had hot plates of food, and curled up on the couch together, turning on the TV. 

 They were halfway throught their second episode of Doctor Who, Spencer's choice, when they heard someone on the stairs. Bennett still had no pants on.

Spencer grinned. Derek turned to the boy and said, "Hey buddy."

"Hi."

"Did you have a good nap?"

Bennet nodded. 

"Do you still want to play a game? Or we can watch a movie." He shrugged. "Whatever you want."

"Can we play a game?"

"Yeah. What do you want to play?"

Spencer thought for a second. "We have Chutes & Ladders, Memory... I think we have Sesame Street Monopoly too."

"I like cookie monster!"

Spencer nodded. "Me too. Sometimes Derek eats cookies like him."

"Hey!"

Bennett giggled and Derek couldn't be mad.

"Alright. I'll go get the game."

By the time the game was over, Bennett had a good pile of money. The men went easy on him and he'd won.

"Good job, Bennett."

"High-five." Bennett hit Derek's hand, grinning.

"Are you guys hungry?"

Bennett and Spencer nodded. "Let's see what we have." As it turns out, they had nothing. They hadn't restocked the fridge after their last case, so they mostly just had old leftovers.

"Change of plans. How do you guys feel about going out to eat?"

"Yay! Can we have noodles?"

Derek nodded. "I think noodles sound good." He looked at the boy. "You have to put pants on though."

The boy sighed and looked at him. "Do I have to?"

The man chuckled. "Yeah, buddy. Sorry. I'll go get dressed too, while you put your pants on."

They went to go get dressed then headed out to the car. "Let's zip up your jacket, buddy."

After buckling the child into his car seat, Derek got into the driver's seat, while Spencer took the passenger seat.

There was a small Italian restaurant near their house. Once they were seated, they looked at their menus. "What do you want, Bennett? Macaroni and cheese?"

Bennett shook his head as he scribbled on the coloring sheet that the waitress had given to him. "Just noodles. With butter."

"Okay."

They ordered their meals when the waitress returned. While they were waiting, Derek leaned over to whisper in Spencer's ear. Spencer nodded and turned to the boy beside him.

"Hey Bennett?"

"Yeah?" He colored in the cat on his paper.

"Do you remember when we told you about our friends? The people we work with?" The boy nodded. "Well , we told them all about you, and they're very excited to meet you." Bennett didn't respond, continuing his picture. "Would you like to meet them?"

He finally looked at them, frowning. "When?"

"Well, if you want to meet them, we could do it next weekend."

Derek nodded. "Our friend JJ, she has a son your age. He'll be there too."

He looked unsure. "Are they nice?"

They both nodded. "Yep. And our frind Aaron has a son too, but he's a little older than you. He's seven."

He shrugged. "Okay. How many?"

"Umm..." He paused to count in his head. Will and Henry would cone with JJ, then Jack... "I think eight."

"That's a lot."

"I know. Are you sure you wanna meet them? We can wait if you want." Spencer looked at him 

"It's okay." He smiled. "Do they have any doggies?"

"Rossi, Dave, he has a dog named Mudgy. And Emily has a cat. His name is Sergio."

Bennet laughed. "That's a funny name."

Their food arrived, interrupting their conversation. After thinking their waitress and making sure that there was a sufficient amount of butter on Bennett's noodles, they dug in.

The food was delicious, and Bennett ate a good portion of his food. Spencer had to ask for a box to take home the rest of his ravioli.

When they arrived home, Bennett was sleepy. They put on a movie in the living room, and they all sat on the couch. After a few minutes, Bennett yawned and rested his head on Spencer's arm. 

"Can you tell me 'bout your friends?"

Spencer nodded. "JJ is my best friend, besides Derek. She's really nice and we've been friends for a long time. Will is her husband. Their son Henry is fun. He can't wait to be your friend. Then there's Emily. She's the lady with cat with the funny name."

Bennett said, "I like cats. They're fluffy."

Spencer smiled. "Me too. And Penelope is super fun. She has a lot of fun toys in her office. She's Derek's best friend. And she's probably gonna but you lots of presents."

Bennett yawned. "Yay."

"Aaron is strict at work, but he's nice when we're not. His son is Jack, who's friends with Henry. And Dave is cool too. He has a really big house, with a bunch of rooms. He has a pool too."

He looked down and saw that Bennett's eyes were closed. He grinned. Looking at Derek, he saw that he was smiling too. "Do you want me to take him to bed?" Derek asked.

Spencer shook his head gently. "No, he's fine here."

They finished the movie, Finding Nemo. When the credits began to roll, Derek leaned over kissed Spencer quickly before slowly picking Bennett up.

The boy's head rested on Derek's shoulder. Spencer followed him and they put him to bed. They slid his jeans off and gently pulled a pair of pajama pants up his legs.

Both men pressed a kiss to Bennett's forehead. They made sure that his night light was still on when they turned off everything else. They left his door open a few inches. 

In their room, Spencer slid out of his pants, as did his husband. He was about to pull on a pair of flannel pants when Derek reached over and stopped him.

He placed his hand on the back of the thinner man's neck, pulling him in for a kiss. It quickly turned heated as Derek ran his tongue along Spencer's bottom lip.

Spencer gasped. "Derek," he warned.

Derek shook his head, kissing the other man neck, nipping at his adam's apple. "I told you. You owe me."

He grabbed the other man's hip and kissed him again. Spencer moaned softly and couldn't resist pressing his hips tighter against Derek's.

He pulled away and pressed his lips to Derek's throat. "Lock the door."

* * *

The next morning, Spencer made breakfast. He was a pretty good cook, although not as good as Derek. Growing up the way he had, with his mother's illness, he'd had to learn how to look after himself, which included learning to cook.

He whusked together the ingredients for waffle batter, adding in some chocolate chips,as opppsed to his usual blueberries. He had a sweet tooth this morning.

Derek was in the shower and Bennett was still asleep. As the first waffle cooked in the iron, he set out the butter and syrup. He cut up some strawberries and set them ont he counter. 

Derek came down down the stairs, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He pressed a kiss to the side of Spencer's head. "Mmm, Pretty Boy. Smells good."

Spencer nodded and diahed up two waffles for Derek. He handed them to him before going to see if Bennett was awake. He saw the boy sitting up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. Bennett looked around his room and Spencer pushed the door open. "Good morning."

"Mornin'."

He sat on the edge of the bed. "How did you sleep?"

"Good." He stretched a little bit.

Spencer nodded. "Do you want some breakfast? I made waffles. And guess what?"

"Hmm?"

"They're chocolate chip."

Bennett smiled. "Yummy."

Together they walked down to the kitchen and Bennett took a seat at the table. Spencer made him a smaller waffle and put it on a plate.

Derek cut it up for him and poured some syrup over it. Bennett grinned and reached up, squeezing the bottle harder, sending more syrup onto his plate. Thankfully it wasn't too much. 

Spencer dished himself some food and sat next to his husband. He ate quickly, a habit of his. 

After he finished his food, he set his plate in the sink. He saw a pile of envelopes on the counter. Derek must have gone to get the mail when he was in Bennett's room. 

He leaned against the counter and leafed through the stack. Bill, bill, bill, a letter from his mother, an advertisement from their cable company, and... his eyes widened when he saw the label.

He looked at Derek. "The letter that Clara told us about is here." He didn't want to say too much in front of Bennett yet.

Derek's eyebrow raised. "Already? Did you read it?"

Spencer shook his head. "Not yet."

He ripped the envelope open and pulled out the paper. It looked very official. He read it quickly and smiled. He handed it to Derek.

"Read it."

Derek took it from his hands and took a minute to read the letter. After he finished he smiled at his husband.

"Should we tell him now?"

"I think so."

Spencer nodded and turned to Bennett, who was still eating. "Hey Bennett? Do you know what foster parents are?"

"That's what Ms. Sara is."

"Good. Well, when we decided to adopt you, we asked if we could be your foster parents too." The boy frowned, not understanding. He was only three and a half, after all. "We just found out that they said yes."

"What's that mean?"

Derek spoke up. "It means that after next week, you get to stay with us permanently. Forever, and then we can adopt you."

His face lit up. "Really? You'll be like my parents?"

Spencer smiled, his eyes suspiciously shiny. "Yeah. Your parents."

"Cool!"

For the rest of the day, the small family stayed at home, munching on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and apple juice.

They decided to tell the team about their good news the next weekend. They planned a get-together for Sunday, hoping that they wouldn't be called away.

Thinking of the changes ahead of them, the men couldn't be happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started this story a year ago today! Happy anniversary! And I kind of feel like an ass since there's only nine chapters... But I'll try to update more regularly from now on. And this chapter is a little longer than normal, as an apology. 
> 
> Please comment or leave any questions, suggestions, or (constructive) criticism. :)
> 
> The next chapter will have the introductions with the team.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bennett meets the team.

They talked to the team on Monday. Their first stop was Garcia. The men knew better than to keep her waiting on good news. 

Quickly knocking before entering her colorful office, they waited until she was finished typing. When she spun around, she smiled.

"What can I do for my favorite couple? How was your weekend?"

"It was good, Baby Girl. We wanted to talk to you."

"What's up?"

Spencer glanced at Derek. "We talked to Bennett, and he wants to meet you guys. We were thinking this weekend? We were going to have a party at our house."

Garcia grinned and clapped her hands. "That sounds perfect. Give me a time and date, and I'll be there with presents."

Derek looked at her. "Pen..."

"Oh hush. I'm getting that little sweetheart a ton of gifts, and there's nothing you can do to stop me." She raised her eyebrows. "Now, what size does he wear?"

"3T. Promise we you won't go overboard." 

She shook her head. "I will do no such thing."

Spencer grinned. He really expected no less. "Saturday, about noon."

After informing the other team members, they settled in at their desks. Of the team, Garcia and JJ had been the most excited. 

JJ was glad to have a child for Henry to play with. She'd confided that he was having a hard time making friends at his preschool. They were all hoping that Henry and Bennett got along.

Work that day was slow and crawling. It was made worse by the fact that Derek and Spencer were missing Bennett like crazy. 

They were monumentally grateful hen it was time to go home. A quiet night in sounded perfect. They stopped for take out and put a movie on. Spencer immediately cuddled up to Derek upon sitting on the couch.

Derek grinned and pulled his husband closer. He was mildly amused at how affectionate Spencer was tonight, but he wasn't complaining. 

He put his arm around his husband and pulled him closer. Spencer's head rested on Derek's chest. Derek leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Spencer's head and slowly ran his fingers through the younger man's hair. "Your hair's getting long again baby boy."

Spencer nodded against his chest. Derek grinned and continued to play with the soft hairs. "I like it."

Reid smiled and looked up at Derek and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. Once he settled back into his position against Derek's chest, he sighed. "I miss him."

Derek nodded. "Me too. It's quiet without him here."

"Mhm. He's just such a sweet kid."

"I know baby." He kissed Spencer's head again and rested his cheek on top of it. "I can't wait until he's all ours."

Spencer chuckled. "Wait until there are toys scattered all around. Or he's throwing a fit because he doesn't want to go to bed."

Derek laughed and Spencer could feel the vibrations coming from the bigger man's chest. "I'll love every minute of it sweetie."

Spencer smiled at the pet name and snuggled in closer. "Me too."

~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Friday night, when they went to pick up Bennett, they could tell he was nervous. They were tired from work and they didn't feel like cooking, so they stopped on the way home for dinner.

Spencer turned around and looked at Bennett. He smiled at him. "What sounds good for dinner?" 

Bennett shrugged. 

Spencer grinned. "Hamburger?" Bennett shook his head.  "Hot dog?" Head shake. "Chicken nuggets?" This time, he nodded.

"Chicken nuggets it is. Do you want French fries?"

"Yeah!"

Spencer chuckled. "I thought so. And a milkshake?"

"Really? Can I get vanilla?"

"Of course! I think I'm gonna have one too."

Derek reached over and parted Spencer's knee. "Me too. But chocolate for me."

They made it home and set the food out on the table. The men watched the young boy fondly as he happily munched on his chicken nuggets. He was humming to himself as he ate, which was adorable. And to top it off, he had a milkshake mustache. 

"Hey, buddy?" Derek said.

"Hmm?" Bennett didn't look up from his food. 

"Wanna try something yummy?" He nodded. Derek grabbed a French fry and dipped it into Bennett's milkshake and handed it to him. The boy scrunched up his nose but Derek just smiled. "Try it. See, watch. Me and Spence will."

Spencer grinned and dipped a fry into his drink and popped it into his mouth. He reached over and smacked Derek's arms when he dipped his into Spencer's drink instead of his own. Derek grinned and ate it.

Bennett put the French fry in his mouth and grinned after a moment.

"Its good isn't it?"

He nodded and swirled another one into his milkshake. 

When they were finished, Derek took their plates and cleaned up the table. Spencer picked Bennett up and carried him into the living room. "We've got about an hour and a half left until your bedtime bud. Do you wanna play with your toys or watch a movie?"

The child thought to himself for a minute before asking, "Can we watch a movie?"

"Yep! You wanna pick which one?"

He set Bennett down and he walks over to the shelf of movies. Spencer waited patiently. After a few minutes, Bennett grabbed a movie from the shelf and handed it to him. "This one?"

Spencer read the title and smiled. "Finding Nemo? I love this one!" He was glad they had some childrens movies that they had bought for when Henry stayed with them. He tickled Bennett's side and watched the boy giggle and run over to the couch. He put the movie in and sat next to the boy. They waited for Derek before they started the movie.

His husband grinned when he walked in. "Nemo, huh? Good choice." He took his seat next to Spencer and put his arms across his shoulder, reached down, and ruffled Bennett's hair. 

They started the movie and both men were surprised the boy didn't fall asleep. Spencer couldn't help but grin as he heard Bennett singing very quietly to himself during the movie.

"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."

The credits started playing and Bennett ran off to get into his pajamas. They cleared off the couch and folded the blankets they'd used. Bennett walked out of the bathroom as Derek was headed upstairs. He grinned and picked up Bennett tucking him under his arm. He spun him arpund and ran into Bennett's bedroom, grinning and tossing the boy into the bed.

Bennett giggled loudly as he bounced on the bed.

"You like that huh?

The boy laughed again and nodded. Derek grinned and pulled back the blankets for him. He crawled under and Derek tucked him in. "Well don't tell Spence I did that or I get in trouble for getting you all excited at bedtime." He smiled.

Bennett grinned. "Okay." 

"Good boy." He made sure Bennett was cozy. "Okay. Now you remember that our team is coming tomorrow right?"

Bennett nodded shyly.

Derek ran his hand over the boy's hair. "There's nothing to worry about sweetie. They're all very nice. And Henry will be there, remember? He's your age."

"Okay," he whispered.

"And guess what?" He waited for Bennett to look up at him. He leaned down and put his mouth by the child's ear. "Garcia is bringing you presents." 

His face lit up. "Really? Yay!"

Derek laughed and nodded. "Yep! So the sooner you sleep, the sooner you get presents."

"Okay!" Spencer walked in and both men laughed as the boy promptly closed his eyes and laid his head down.

"Goodnight buddy." Derek kissed his forehead first, then Spencer. "We'll see you in the morning."

Bennett yawned. "Goodnight," he whispered.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow.
> 
> I am so sorry. There's really not an excuse. I mean, a few family members have been in the hospital, but i also just didn't really have any new ideas. Writers' block of the worst kind. At least for this story.
> 
> I promise it won't be this long until the next chapter! Let me know what you think :)

**Author's Note:**

> I started this a while ago, and I decided to rewrite it. Let me know if you think I should continue with this. :)


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